Poverty and Inequality

Councils falling short of preventive care obligations

22.09.17: Councils are failing to meet their obligations to prevent, reduce or delay the need for care as set out in the Care Act 2014. New research published by the Red Cross called ‘Prevention in Action 2017’ has found that although the...

Children slipping deeper into crisis before being offered help

14.09.17: Children are having to fall deeper into crisis before they are offered any help from local services, a survey of social workers released this week has shown. The research, conducted by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) on behalf of...

Government slammed for ‘light touch’ approach to tackling homelessness

13.09.17: The government has failed to evaluate the full extent of how its welfare reforms will impact on homelessness, a new report released by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found. In the study, the DCLG was also slammed for failing to publish...

Rough sleeping set to soar by 76% over the next decade

10.08.17: Rough sleeping is likely to rise by around three quarters in the next decade, a new report from a major homelessness charity has today warned. New analysis ‘Homelessness projections: Core homelessness in Great Britain’, undertak...

Councils having to house over 900 homeless children every month

24.07.17: Councils are currently having to find homes for the equivalent of a secondary school’s worth of homeless children every month, shocking new figures have revealed. The LGA has warned that local authorities are providing temporary housi...

UC should be paused as system ‘remains beset with problems’

10.07.17: A charity has today called on the government to pause the Universal Credit (UC) roll out after it found that a third of people who had applied for money under the new scheme were waiting more than the six weeks it should usually take to receive...

Charity develops £4.5m fund to tackle homelessness

25.05.17: A social investment fund worth £4.5m has this week been launched by charity Homeless Link to tackle the issue in local areas. The fund will support housing agencies and social enterprises across England to reduce homelessness and is o...

Punitive benefit cuts pushing mental health sufferers further into poverty

22.05.17: The benefits system is causing a large number of people suffering with mental health problems to be made even more unwell, a new survey has found. In research conducted by charity Mind, around 3,000 people with mental health problems were a...

Older people miss out on £3.5bn in unclaimed benefits

25.04.17: Older people are missing out on £3.5bn in unclaimed benefits despite almost one in four over-65s finding it difficult to make ends meet, charity Age UK has today announced. Research from the charity found that millions of older people...

Switch to Universal Credit doubles number of referrals to foodbanks

25.04.17: Areas where Universal Credit has been rolled out to single people, couples and families have seen a 16.85% increase in the number of people being referred to foodbanks – more than double the national average. In a report drawn up by c...

DCLG to consult councils on spending model for Troubled Families scheme

06.04.17: The government will review the spending model of its current Troubled Families programme with local councils, the first annual report of the controversial scheme has revealed. The programme was first introduced in 2012 and ran until 2015, c...

Modern slavery referrals to authorities skyrocket 78% in one year

24.03.17: Referrals of potential victims of modern slavery soared by 78% from 2014 to 2015, prompting councils to warn that greater awareness was needed from the public to spot the signs of exploitation that can lead to workers living in squalid condition...

Jones replaces DWP fee with new homelessness grant to allow councils ‘flexibility’

16.03.17: A new grant to tackle homelessness that will provide £402m over the next two years and allow councils “more control and flexibility” over budgets was announced yesterday by the government. In a parliamentary statement by c...

Smoking creates £760m annual social care bill for cash-strapped councils

30.01.17: Smoking is costing local authorities and individuals an enormous £1.4bn in social care costs to cover the growing needs of people with smoking-related illnesses, a parliamentary report has found. The research, conducted by Action on S...

Rough sleeping numbers skyrocket by 16% in last year

26.01.17: The number of rough sleepers in England has increased by 16% in the past year, over double the figure declared in 2010, new figures have revealed. DCLG statistics on rough sleepers in autumn 2016 revealed that local authorities estimated 4...